Thursday, August 13, 2009

Inn Training aka (Inn)keeping Up Appearances

The landlord of the inn at which Chen has been staying stomps angrily up the stairs. 'Monks should be quiet...' he thinks '...not always thumping around. What could he possibly be doing?!'

He bangs loudly on the door - he has to, to overcome the noises from within. Eventually, a sweaty and confused looking Chen timidly opens his door a crack and peers round.

"Hai, Innkeeper-san!" Chen bows."What are you doing in there?" the inkeeper demands."I practice." Chen smiles nervously and holds a particularly worn book up to the barman. "I find in bazaar. Is interest to me."

Chen rifles quickly through the pages and the complicated illustrations spring to life. The inkeeper instantly recognizes it as child's flick-book, with a more mature twist. The diagrams depict a series of figures locked in combat...

Chen stops the pages halfway through the book, and points to a set of pictures - men fighting with their bare fists. "This - very easy to learn."

He moves the pages on some more. These pages show a man whirling and twisting with what appears to be a chain link with a large spiked ball on the end. "This - not so easy to learn".

With this comment, Chen allows the door to slowly swing open. As the inkeeper's vision pans around the room he takes in the scene. A mirror lies smashed on the floor, the wardrobe door hangs by it's hinges, the paintings are all crooked, and the bed rests at an angle - one leg obviously broken.

Seeing the fury swell in the inkeeper, Chen bows lows. "I sorry. I pay all damage! Twice!" The inkeeper nods in agreement and his anger abates. This monk may be quite unlike any others he's met before, but at least he's likable.